


The Dust in My Lungs Stings like Home

by ForensicSpider98



Series: Love After the Fact [50]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, All this stress is bad for the baby, Altean Adam (Voltron), Altean Prince Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Balmeran Hunk (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Galra Shiro (Voltron), Galran Prince Keith (Voltron), Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Dilemmas, Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Olkari Pidge | Katie Holt, Post-War, it's keith. keith is the baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24710914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForensicSpider98/pseuds/ForensicSpider98
Summary: Home is where your heart is.EPISODE 50!!!!
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Alfor/Coran (Voltron), Allura/Lotor/Romelle (Voltron), Haggar/Zarkon (Voltron), Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Love After the Fact [50]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1635043
Comments: 59
Kudos: 203





	The Dust in My Lungs Stings like Home

**Author's Note:**

> Anybody else finding that comment/update notifications are taking like, HOURS to hit your email, or is it just me having that problem right now?  
> Anyhoo, if it takes me forever to respond to your comments, that's why :'(

They leave for Daibazaal in the morning instead of the afternoon, Keith’s mounting distress prompting quicker action than the princes had originally planned. Lance’s fussing and fretting only make Keith irritated, the combination of concern and coddling grating on his nerves. He’s in pain, and his instincts tell him to keep others at a distance because he’s vulnerable.

At least Lance is busy for a moment, he and his fathers trading a slew of last minute instructions as Adam tries in vain to pull him onto the shuttle. Pidge is sitting on the floor with a couple of datapads and a bag full of tablets.

“He’s just worried about you.” They’re inspecting a blue crystal with microscopic lens. “And the kingdom, of course, but mostly you.”

“I know. I’m just-”

“In pain. I know. I can hear it in your heartbeat and breathing.” Pidge’s feelers creep up his arm, trying their best to explore his internal transformations. Their ability to 'interface with biological hardware’ is still developing, but- “Keith, you’re in _a lot_ of pain.”

“Yes, thank you. I noticed.” A little clipped, but like the Olkari kit said, he’s in tremendous pain.

Pidge is untroubled by his attitude. “Used to it, huh?”

“Pretty much.” He strains his ears to hear what Lance and the Kings are discussing...

“If you do not call us, I will track you down and drag you home by the point of your ear, do you hear me?” Coran drags his son into yet another hug. “And you take good care of that boy. He needs you right now.”

“I know. I’ll be good. I promise.”

To Lance’s surprise, Alfor embraces him too. “You’re a good man, son. That’s a hard thing for a royal to be. Be careful.”

“I will.” Lance releases his father, pulls back with squared shoulders, graceful poise. “I’d best be going. We’re expected.”

“Farewell, son,” Coran says, smiling at his son.

“Farewell, and take care.” Alfor inclines his head.

“Love you too!" Lance runs onto the shuttle, cloak flying behind him, before Coran can fuss over him and Alfor can drill him any more than they already have. He turns to whisper to Adam, “Get us in the air before they start throwing extra socks at me!”

“Yes, your Majesty. Did you say goodbye to Hunk?” Adam starts up the shuttle, more than capable of flying, though he rarely does it. As the ground pulls away, Lance sighs with relief. A bit of separation from his parents might do him some good, no matter the love between them.

“This morning, before breakfast. I said goodbye for you too, beloved.”

“Thanks.” Keith hadn't been able to make the trip into town in the early morning vargas. It hurts when he moves. He hisses as a spasm of pain shoots up one of his legs. Quite suddenly, he _does_ want Lance.

And, because he’s wonderful, Lance delivers. One thing about Lance is that he knows the difference between want and need. He’s been here since yesterday, keeping his distance, because he knows he’s needed, but not wanted. And he’s here now, bringing Keith up front to the window, pulling him close, soothing his pain as best as possible, even if there’s only so much his limited alchemy can do.

Adam tried, but it didn't take as well as Lance's. Even Alfor made an attempt to help, but only got so far despite the power and skill behind his efforts.

Lance takes him up front and to a seat, which means that Keith has the perfect opportunity to watch his spouse experience space for the first time. His eyes are wide, lips parted in an awed smile. Those pointed ears twitch with excitement, scales glowing ever so faintly.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

“Do you know how much of space is still unexplored?”

“Almost all of it. At least by us,” Keith whispers. “My father was an explorer. My name… it comes from a planet he discovered.”

“Which planet?”

“The people simply called it ‘Earth’. At least, in Common. Dad never documented it. The people were weak and primitive. They hadn’t even discovered electricity. He was worried about what might happen to them if he reported the discovery. But still, he named me after a friend he made while there.

“He was going to take me to meet them. He’d always tell me about it, how one day we’d explore the stars together… He’s the only one who knew where ‘Earth’ is. Now, nobody knows.”

“Keith…”

“I know. Parents tell stories. But-”

“I’m sure he was-” Lance sits up straight. “Telling the… truth… _Oh_.”

Daibazaal. Daibazaal is bigger than Altea, and it doesn’t have rings. Lance can see mountains and stone, red earth, a vast forest of deep green, and a _massive_ body of water. Lance isn’t even sure what to compare it to; he’s never seen so much water!

“What are those wispy things?”

“Clouds,” Keith whispers, settling against Lance’s side as another spasm creeps up his legs and spine. “Evaporated water. Like fog, but up in the sky.”

“Wow.” A quick glance revealed a sort of wonder on Adam’s face as well. "I've never seen clouds before. Only studied them."

The Imperial Compound comes into view, the Great House and Hall carved into a crater in the very peak of the mountaintop. Warrens and buildings are carved from a mountain, layers upon layers of red rock covered in carvings and paintings creeping up the mountain in terraced levels, villages wrapped around like a layered skirt.

“Holy fucking quiznak,” Lance breathes. Keith’s keens, a soft, longing sound constricting his throat. He feels Lance’s lips brush the shell of his ear. “Welcome home, beloved.”

“Welcome-” Keith breaks off. This isn’t home for Lance. “Welcome.”

Touching down on a landing pad of the compound, Keith hesitates before getting up. Adam and Pidge march off like visiting their neighbors means nothing to them. Or rather, it means something less profound.

“Do you need help?” Lance whispers, still holding him close.

“No, I just-”

“I want to see everything. Everything we can, while we’re here.” Lance’s lips brush against Keith’s temple. “Not the most impressive things, but the most beloved. The things that fill your heart.”

“Promise you won’t hate it?” Keith studies their hands, which are still joined more often than not. “Lance, this is my home. It’s rarely been kind to me, but I love it more than anything.”

“Daibazaal made you. I think I will like it just fine.”

Keith shoves his husband away, scoffing. “Suck-up.” 

Lance laughs as his spouse stalks down the ship. “But it worked!” He follows, catches Keith around the waist, kisses him soundly. “It worked and I-” A pause. “I will continue to flatter you whenever possible.”

Close. So close. Too close. Lance’s tongue has never been quite this prone to tripping.

“Come on. The first thing I want to see is the medical center. Let's go before I have to spend the rest of my life shorter than you.”

“A time will come when you’ll miss me being bigger than you.” Lance keeps a supportive hand around his waist, chuckling at his spouse's skeptical hum.

The warm sun breaks over the cloaked and furred princes, and red dust plumes up beneath their feet. The courtyard is mostly deserted, just the two of them, Adam, and Pidge.

So when red dust gets in Keith’s eyes, and chokes him in his throat, and tears are slipping into his fur, it’s perfectly safe. He only has a brief moment to wonder whether Lance planned it like that, before he’s falling to that red stone kissed by the sun- Oh gods, he’s missed that feeling so much. He lays his palms upon it, feeling the grit that the winds are always scattering, the polished stone of an ancient monument beneath. The warmth soaks into his hands, something so simple, so precious.

All Keith wants to do in this moment is curl up right there and let his skin absorb the gentle heat his ancestors sang of to chase away the fear of new moons.

“Shh, beloved. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” Lance never lets him go.

It’s only after a few doboshes that Keith’s able to look up. He stiffens, wide-eyed, at a familiar-faced, slightly-built figure in front of him. Sharp, wide-arcing curls fight against a knot at the base of her neck, lithe, gracile body lighter-hued and less furry than Keith, but unmistakable. The glint in her eyes could mean only one thing.

Lance’s head turns too, and his arms slowly drop, though they pause to unclasp Keith’s cloak for him, letting it fall to the ground. Because what does it matter? What do silks and furs matter when he’s standing on a red planet beneath a golden sun? The Altean helps Keith to his feet, steadies him, then steps away with a gentle word.

It’s all Keith needs. Even on the cusp of adulthood, he still desperately wants one thing more than anything else. And he finally has it, if only for a phoeb.

His mother.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time on Love After the Fact: The family reunion you've all been waiting for!


End file.
